Sunday, August 31, 2014

Mom's 1953 Europe Road Trip: The Netherlands

From Mom's Europe trip diary, in the "PLACES VISITED" section:
August 31, Monday – Road between Rotterdam and Amsterdam [the Netherlands] 
Drove around to see ruins and building being done.  Started on way to Amsterdam, arriving there at 12 noon.  Had difficulty finding hotel--streets narrow, some one way, cyclists driving one crazy.  Ate lunch (duck with mushrooms) at Victoria* where we are staying.  After lunch checked American Express then went on water tour of Amsterdam.  Very interesting sights were seen.  Even had to get up & go to front of boat under a bridge since water level was so high there.  Went out for dinner and then came back & went to bed.

* According to the "HOTELS STOPPED AT" section of the trip diary, my mother and her friends spent this night at the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.


The next two photos show scenes Mom and her friends might have seen on their water tour of Amsterdam, as these photos were taken in 1953:

Nederlands: Aalsmeerderveerhuis: Sloterkade 21 en 22 [1953]  / Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed [Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands] / CC-BY-SA-3.0-nl

Voorgevels [Façades] - Amsterdam [1953] / Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
[Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands], Gerard (G.  J.) Dukker / CC-BY-SA-3.0-nl

Here is the Victoria Hotel, where Mom and her friends stayed.  The photo was taken in July 1979, but the hotel, built in 1890, is still there today.

[Victoria Hotel,] Overzicht [Overview] - Amsterdam [July 1979] / Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
[Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands] / CC-BY-SA-3.0-nl

Looks like bicycles are still an issue in Amsterdam.  This photo was taken near the entrance to the Victoria Hotel in 2009:


Amsterdam Zentrum [Center] [2009] / Sterilgutassistentin / CC-BY-SA-3.0


This is the 24th in a series of posts about my mother's 1953 Europe Trip.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

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